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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

POPLARVILLE — New Pearl River Community College head coach William Jones will kick off his Wildcat football tenure versus a program he is quite familiar with come Aug. 29. Jones, a former PRCC defensive coordinator who was hired earlier this year after 11-year head coach Tim Hatten resigned the position in November, will face off with East Mississippi — the same school he left The River for in 2008 to serve as its DC. Pearl River’s 2013 schedule includes five home and four away contests. Six games will be played on Thursday, including its opener against North Division foe East Miss on Aug. 29; while three are set for Saturdays. All the Wildcats’ home games see a 7 p.m. kickoff time with the exception of their Homecoming battle with MACJC South Division rival East Central on Saturday, Oct. 29, which starts at 2 p.m. Following its opener against EMCC, PRCC hosts Mississippi Delta (North Division) on Thursday, Sept. 5, before opening its South Division schedule at Jones County in Ellisville Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. North foe Coahoma plays host in Clarksdale Thursday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m., setting the stage for five straight South Division contests to wrap the regular season. Southwest Mississippi visits Dobie Holden Stadium Thursday, Sept. 26; Mississippi Gulf Coast visits Thursday, Oct. 3; and reigning state champion Copiah-Lincoln plays host Saturday, Oct. 12, at 3 p.m. in Wesson before East Central arrives in Poplarville. Hinds will host Pearl River Thursday, Oct. 24, in Raymond to wrap the regular season. The top two finishers in the North and South divisions earn berths in the MACJC state playoffs. First-round playoff action is set for Saturday, Nov. 2, with North No. 1 hosting South No. 2 and South No. 1 hosting North No. 2; while the two games’ winners square off for the state title bout Saturday, Nov. 9. If a North Division playoff team cops a state championship berth, the game will be played in the North. If two South Division teams get berths, the game will be played at the higher-seeded school’s home field.